I’m on drugs!

Last week, loads of people asked me what the hell I was doing taking photos of bottles of wine on the checkout conveyor belt at ASDA. I know what you’re asking this week; for what stupid reason is he taking photos of pills? Well, I started off trying out my new camera (only a cheapie Pentax Optio from ASDA – I’m not on commission from there, honest!) and wondering how close to an object I could get and still get a sharp picture (oh God, now you know for sure I’m a real weirdo!). The result is these photos and I suppose the answer was that the camera can get pretty close considering its only a budget model.

It got me thinking about the tablets that I take every day; usually I don’t even glance at them, just swig them down. I take 75mg of Dosulepin each night before I go to bed. If you look that up you’ll find that it’s an anti-depressant but I actually take them to prevent migraine. I’ve suffered with migraine since I was in my teens (not that long then? Ha ha!); it manifesting as bad headaches, visual nasties such as flashing lights and other weird hallucinations, numbness all down one side, and a bizarre sensation where I can’t think of what words to say to say what I want to say (obviously I have that problem to some extent anyway judging by that last sentence!).

I don’t know if anyone else out there suffers with this condition but if you do I really really recommend this medication. Like I said, you don’t just take this when you get an attack you take it all the time in order to prevent an attack. And 9 times out of 10 it does. I was getting about 3 or 4 migraines each month and now I’m getting maybe 1 every 5 or 6 months. It’s brilliant.

Some people (my dad for example) have problems taking medication on a permanent basis and I suppose it is something you should think carefully about. But for me the advantages far outweigh any possible drawbacks. Another great plus for me is that it makes me drowsy which is superb because I also suffer with insomnia so if I take my 75mg before bed I get to drift off to sleep much easier than previously. Also, they’re anti-depressants so I get to be relatively perky most of the time (that didn’t used to be the case!). Everyone’s a winner. Oh and I just thought of one more advantage…. the little orange capsules are great for testing out your new camera on.

ARE YOU ON ANY MEDICATION? DO YOU TAKE ANY ON A PERMANENT BASIS? DO YOU HAVE ANY QUALMS ABOUT DOING THAT? SHOULD I BE MORE CAUTIOUS ABOUT TAKING MINE ON A LONG TERM BASIS? WHAT DO YOU THINK?

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4 thoughts on “I’m on drugs!”

I have several long time drugs, the first of which was an asthma inhaler. At the time I was diagnosed I felt quite saddened and concerned that my breathing needed pretty much permanent medical assistance. Now I take it for granted. I guess we can get used to anything, especially if it’s helping us exist with less pain?

I can sympathise. The problem with any drug, especially one that is obviously doing so much good, is that you reach a point where you wonder who’s in charge.
My relationship with the coffee bean goes back to my childhood. I’m in the process of cutting down right now; two weeks ago we had a long weekend in Perth and I quit cold turkey, but my intake was too high. The headaches, I was ready for. But after three days of abstinence I woke up with the worst muscle pain. My legs ached as if I’d run fifty miles uphill.
I’ve cut my intake steadily since that failed attempt and I’m confident I’ll stick it out this time. But hell, it used to be so much easier… just a few days with a nagging ache in the skull. And now I’m getting nostalgic about the withdrawal process, which is just bizarre. I’ll shut up.

A worry must be that any drug taken over a long period will cause the body to develop an immunity so that it takes more and more of the stuff to get the same benefit. And that’s before we even consider psychological dependence! Oh well, I think Ill just keep taking the tablets.

Jon Kenna

This blog is called BAD EYES partly because my eyesight really is very bad. It's now so poor that it's officially classed as 'complex'. But I can still see and this is a blog about the things I see through my bad eyes. The title BAD EYES also refers my particular slant on life; random things that happen to me, things that I like, things that I don't like, funny things, weird things, scary things, controversial things, books I read, films I see, music I listen to; all the usual stuff. Even though its me, me, me, I'd also love to hear about you. The Comments button is there to be used. Thanks for visiting and please subscribe to my blog (you don't have to register with Wordpress to do this, just fill in the panel below) so that I can delude myself that I am popular. Be seeing you.

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